Welcome to the May edition of the LXF Newsletter. Everyone's talking about Dell's choice of Ubuntu for its proposed Linux-based PCs - how much will this make Ubuntu the 'standard' distro? And is this, finally, the move that will bring Linux to the mainstream? Some people are taking a more cynical approach to the move, suggesting that it's merely a bargaining tool so that Dell can get cheaper Windows licenses from Microsoft. And, of course, Dell's PCs are supplied with various trial programs; companies pay Dell to install these, thereby offsetting the cost of Windows. So the Linux-equipped machines may not turn out much cheaper.

Time will tell, but for a PC giant like Dell to start pre-installing Linux on consumer-level hardware is a major step forward for open source. I'm typing this on a Dell Inspiron 1300 that I bought last year, and aside from the usual Winmodem complications, Linux runs flawlessly on it. When the time comes for me to upgrade my machine, I'll be very happy if I can get one without paying a penny of Windows tax - and without even having to burn a distro CD!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this month's Newsletter. We have a peek at the latest issue of LXF, our regular catchups of the best news and forum posts, plus a special feature on the results of our Make it with Mono competition. Yes, a winner has been selected, and we'vegiven the project an, er, interesting name...

The new issue of Linux Format has hit the shop shelves, and this month our main feature focuses on something we all have to do: system administration. Yes, we're all admins in some way or another, whether we're updating software for the latest security patches or trying to squeeze more speed out of our machines. We have a comprehensive selection of the best tips and tricks for making more of Linux, whether you just run a single machine at home or maintain hundreds of PCs at work.

Meanwhile, if you're feeling creative and have a few tunes going through your head, why not set up an open source music studio? We show you the music and software you need to start recording and editing songs on your Linux box. For this task we look at 64 Studio, a Debian-based distro that's supplied with all the essential software needed to get mixin'.

In our other features we show you how to harness the power of the SELinux security framework, and understand Kamion, the new desktop migration tool that will be a key component of KDE 4. Over in our tutorials section we explore the Linux filesystem, set up a secure VPN, create a web-based app without coding, understand object oriented programming and do very cool things with Blender. Under the spotlight in our Reviews pages are Ubuntu 7.04 (well, a preview really), Scribus 1.3.3.8 and Linux-powered music machine Squeezebox.

On our 4GB DVD you'll find StartCom Enterprise Linux 5, a distro designed with maximum stability and security in mind - after all, it's built from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux sources. This distro is an excellent choice if you want something well-tested that won't fall over due to being on the cutting-edge. There's lots more to explore on our disc too, including OpenOffice.org 2.2, Kino 1.0, our Answers archive, and full LXF features in PDF format.

To get a sample of our system administration feature, here's one of our tips for getting a welcome speed boost from your distro:

# Performance: Start applications quicker

If the speed at which your system boots is a cause of frustration, then the speed that certain applications take to launch is certainly going to compound the problem. And we don't mean just OpenOffice.org either. If we added up all the seconds we waste everyday waiting for everything from a web browser to an email client to load, there'd probably be enough time to make a cup of tea and take a digestive biscuit out of the tin.

It may come as a surprise to learn that there is something you can do to help speed this process up (not the tea making, you can't rush a good brew). You can speed up application loading using a tool called 'prelink'. A large chunk of an application's startup procedure is taken up by working out which shared libraries need to be loaded in a massive web of dependencies, and one library will very often rely on another. These libraries are linked to the executable for your application, and what 'prelink' does is calculate all the dependencies before hand - cutting out the repeated process of calculating dependencies.

Just install the 'prelink' package for your distribution, and open '/etc/default/prelink' in a text editor. You just need to make sure it contains 'PRELINKING=yes'. Prelink will have also installed a small script that's set to run daily from '/etc/cron.daily/prelink'. This needs to be run once after installation to initialise the prelink database. After the lengthy first run, you shouldn't notice the daily check unless you've completely upgraded your distribution. Prelink cut our OOWriter start time from 25.027 seconds to just 8.943.

Snag a copy of LXF93 for many more top-notch tips!

---------------------------------------------------------- 3. In the news... ----------------------------------------------------------

Recently we reported that Dell was considering Linux pre-installs on some of its machines. Now the PC giant has confirmed that it will be shipping Ubuntu with some of its machines, giving yet another boost to the massively popular distro. Obviously the choice of Ubuntu won't be to everyone's tastes, but by going with a single distro, Dell could arguably bring some consolidation to the Linux world. See http://tinyurl.com/yrson5

Eben Moglen has announced that he will step down from the Free Software Foundation board of directors, now that the GPL v3 is almost ready. However, Moglen will still be a prominent figure in the Free Software legal world, as he intends to spend more time with the Software Freedom Law Center. See http://tinyurl.com/346yl9

Following on from the announcement that the 7.10 version of Ubuntu will be codenamed 'The Gutsy Gibbon', project leader Mark Shuttleworth has described a completely free version of the distro. This Ubuntu flavour will not include firmware, drivers, images, sounds and applications that do not adhere strictly to Free Software principles. The distro will be produced in collaboration with gNewSense. See http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1447

---------------------------------------------------------- 4. This month on the forum ----------------------------------------------------------

As we expected, our Ultimate Linux Box feature in LXF92 sparked up plenty of discussion. Dutch_Master proposed an alternative ULB that doesn't break the bank, weighing in at 600 UK pounds but still packing in plenty of horsepower. Many other forum regulars stepped in with their suggestions for CPUs and power supplies, so if you're in the market for some new PC kit, it's well worth checking out this thread and asking for advice from fellow readers. [1]

So that's the best hardware, but what about the best ISP? There's a huge amount of choice for dialup and broadband connections in the UK - indeed, sometimes it feels nigh-on impossible to make a good decision. Shifty_ben described his experiences with a few ISPs, and others joined in to offer their mini-reviews too. Definitely deserves a read if you're not happy with your current provider and are thinking of switching. [2]

If you've been having trouble with phone spammers - you know, cold callers who bug you with products you clearly don't want - then check out the various suggestions in this thread. Not that Team LXF condones pretending to work for the FBI. No way. [3]

Our Make it with Mono competition has now closed, and the winning entry was "Web Weaver", which wants to see a full clone of Dreamweaver programmed using Mono. Alright, so perhaps that doesn't quite fit into our rules, but we've decided to give it a try anyway - and we're calling it Project Cupcake!

"Cupcake?" Yup, that's our codename for this Dreamweaver clone - it already has its own mini-site on the LXF wiki:

We're now in the process of recruiting programmers. If you have programmed in C# in the past and want to get involved in a new project from its very conception, this is your chance to show off your skills to the world. Best of all, you know that you'll be helping to create a program that people really want, so you may even get a bit of fame in the Linux world!

If you've only recently learnt C# from our Mono tutorials, that's fine too - all help is gratefully welcome. Graham, Nick, Mike and Paul are all going to be involved with the coding, which means we can help guide you through your first steps with C# as you startto program.

C# isn't a difficult programming language to learn; it has C-like syntax but is much nicer to work with, and, of course, you get access to heaps of libraries and routines that the Mono/.NET framework provides. A quick Google search will bring up plenty of C# tutorials if you want to explore the rewarding world of programming, such as these:

will break the project down into smaller, achievable milestones along the way. Milestone 1, which we hope to get out by July 1st, aims to see just how feasible it is to replicate Dreamweaver using GTK, whereas Milestone 2 is more about features - we hope to be approaching Nvu's featureset by that point.

If you're interested in helping out with the project, you can either add your name to the list at

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